Effective brake indicator for railroad cars



May 19, 1953 c. H. BECK 2,638,864

EFFECTIVE BRAKE INDICATOR FOR RAILROAD cARs Filed April 1951 Q 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Carl H. Bea/r BY 8 \n QQN-AF May 19, 1953 c; H. BECK EFFECTIVE BRAKE INDICATOR FOR RAILROAD CARS Filed April 5, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Carl H Back I Q L Q Ah y w ME vm Patented May 19, 1953 PATENT QFFICE rol AI ROAD GABS MPE B ak, L sA os; G l- -=Agijhlieati nAxilh 19-51,s@r;s11w@-.1z1s,oas

fl filaims. 1.. 'l'his invent on" relates to momvlements" of the brake-sy tems. e viqual .e rser out or. order and'tohotethe number or he hea se that that parti ul r car can be serv ced.-

'A'filither object is to el mina e t me e lay nece sar fife rei men t wal ltner i (i h train in ordertn est each indivisi -i uai earglqrake" system. A further object is to proquee aideviee of this chara te which maybeatt ehed "th a are brake quipment With ut materleiliy altering its construction. I

A "further ob ect-is toy-produce a; d vie 9.5 this character which is-economical Vto' jn st aii, one which-is pcsit vein" s peratien and one: i

which "the ss ena'l must th manuehyi e u d to itsoperative position. v

' Other oh'jects andadvahtageswillbe apparent chairing the course cr me following description.

in the a-ccempanying drawings tfbrm mga part of this-speeificatiomand h l-ike 'num e s are' employed t0 clesigmateiikria-rts threughout the same.

rF-i-g. 1 is a \diagrammatie arrangement .gf an ordinary system having mviment n-a plied thereto;

Fig. .2 is a raementaxvsiee ie evat en .ef atee havin si n l at aehee theretp; a

3" s a ventieale oss sest en ef si ma valve: 7

M Fig.- 4 is a v r cal crass s ction-e a we ey cheeks/awe;

Fig. 5 sis-2. ventmalemss section pi a iifi eren tia twg war heek valve; we I Fig. 61s a vertical cross-semen semamore ac uating Qylinder .At the present time .eaeh railreaci ear i 0 vided with a standard a rtbrake systems tra n [line which serves to tonnes] t e systemsbi t e der to various ear -SL038 2 the 911 13 1,

;an ".in ascertainwhether thesefbrjak yet ms 1 a required "by "law, that a personal xaminatio eaeh earimust' rmad ibefore'a departs or leaves -*the car'yard a 'f-teP'thetra-i-n has b'een made up.

I It istherefore neees'sary tor -the inspector rte wa s the entir 'leng't o the train and eaeh iear'tp ascertain whether the airbres equip: ment is telly c a ed wh an h chine eithe by the .leeemetive or by a yard chargin p eat, and i: an e l s a detec ive; this ear be out out ns repa re b iqre it pre'eeeg tq its d stination. v

' Urider'this' procedure delays'in departure may eegme nvelved, i -edti tiqn t ime ens e pe' e let th airbr inspe tor,

I, have, th'e e er provides ab a e isiieat'er which will reveal at any" point along 'thqroad from. whieh the rain i s b he efie ti 'eP l 9r Q he wi e oi th br kin syst m v rrii ri y ains" vi e nto 0 out Q e ard or do at low peed and'i qe su h that a d fect ve, bra-lie t ha ing m de e atta hed there o ca eadily b met d and the hie r e ieci be o e d pa u e time- The standard airbrah equipmen a epp i to ey e r QQQSi UfS 9 rak Pipe extending th one. ut theple st 'ei t ear th ehe e s e s ehdhose ti'ea b en 91 the ee h e i h t e 919 f itis pn um ti p ure we be supp ed $9 a deuibl 'eempertm nt r se i one p'ertion f hich s e m d' he u il a y reservoir, and the other portion fi of which is termed the emergency reservoir, thus'pre-s-t'i ri gener gy for subsequentjuse.

-When' the air system is charged -to a p're-determinegi minimum, this energy is available *for use when it 'is desiredto apply the' brakes. The big-king efiqrtis aclcor plishedtoy-making a reduction 'in the brake pipe pressure, which, in turn, causes a valve mechanism mountedin the housing "l'to' direct'the' pressure from the ai'ixiL- iary' reservoir 5 tethe' brake-cylinder- 8, and ferce'developeg withinthe eyii-nder is in" tum transmitted through the medium of push red 9 amide mecrhanieai rigging -to the brake shoes and wheels.

The customary hr akeline pipe is sho'Wna/t I I.

31 9 str-iietume thus far described is common to all power braite -instatlations eri railrcz ad oars.

' "I he#resul-t 0f the' -stmcture thus far shown is th-at'avhen the engineer desires to make his brake agplieaiti'on, "he reduces pressure in the @brake pipe 44, Whi ehyin turmactuates" a'm the hetising 1, which, in nemziits air to flow from the-auxiliary reservoir J thrmigihsui-tame pigseiine 'tethe 'brakeeylind x8. This'caesesthe push rod"? move outwardly amt transmit thretzgh liitkage' "the 'b-i'ak-ing effect upon the wheels.

It often occurs that duetofleakage inpipes or packme', or mechanical failuramoss'ibly the valves and the housing 1, the brakes on a particular car may fail to be applied and retain their effectiveness to the desired degree. There would be no way in a long train for the engineer or crew to be aware of this fact, and consequently, the entire weight of the loaded car will have to be braked by the remaining cars in the train. Should several cars in the train be defective, serious consequences might result.

In order to quickly ascertain if any of the brake equipment is defective for any cause whatsoever, I have attached to the pipe l2 leading from the emergency reservoir 6, a pipe |3 which will conduct air pressure into a bore I4 formed in the signal control housing I6, Fig. 3; within which housing is positioned a slide valve l1, having a U-shaped passage l8 formed therein, the

purpose of which will be later seen. p

This slide valve I1 is actuated by a push rod l9 connected to a diaphragm 2| clamped between the end of the housing l6 and a cover plate 22. The cover plate 22 has an inlet pipe 23 connected to the brake pipe II.- A pipe 24 connects to the pipe 26, which pipe in turn connects to the auxiliary reservoir 5 and to the housing 1. This pipe 24 enters the housing I6 at a point behind the diaphragm 2|, the purpose of which will be later seen.

A channel 26 formed in the housing l6 connects to an exhaust pipe 21. A pipe 28 connects the bore 29 in the housing |6 to a volume reservoir 30.

I have shown in Fig. 4 a two-way check valve 3|, which check valve has a sliding valve 32, one side of which valve is connected by a pipe 33 to the brake cylinder, but on the non-pressure side of the piston (see Fig. 6). The opposite side is connected by a pipe 68 to the casing |6 in a manner which will be later described.

A pipe 34 is connected to the valve 3| so as to receive air therefrom and conduct the same to a differential two-way valve 36 (see Fig. 5). .A pipe 31 connects this valve to a pipe 38 which in turn extends from the housing 1 to a retaining valve 39 which retaining valve is often used and manually set so as to retain the brake cylinder pressure.

When the engineer causes a rise in brake pipe pressure by means of which to recharge the auxiliary reservoir, this rise in brake pipe pressure would normally release the brake which would be undesirable in grade operation, and the retaining valve will serve to hold the brakes under pressure.

Pipe 4| connects to a pipe 42 extending the length of the car and to opposite diagonal corners thereof. Connected to each end of pipe 4| is a cylinder 43, each of which cylinders in turn has pistons therein adapted to operate loose push rods 44 and through levers 4-6 to rotate about a pivot 41 a semaphore arm 48.

Referring now to Fig. 6 which is a cross section of an ordinary brake cylinder, it will be noted that within the cylinder 8 is a piston 49 which is spring loaded through the medium of a spring 5|. This piston has a tubular sleeve 52 which is supported in a bearing 53 and within the sleeve there is provided a push rod 54, resting against a ball 56. It should also be noted that the push rod 54 is of less diameter than the bore of the tubular sleeve 52. This permits sidewise movement of the brake rod as it is free and moves through the necessary are to apply the brake lever and brake gear.

. Secured to the outer end of the tubular 52 is 4 an upstanding valve actuator 56, Fig. 3, the upper end of which engages a push button 31 slidably mounted in the housing l6 and having a nose 58 adapted to engage the nose 59 of a slide valve 6| which is normally held (when brakes are applied) by a spring 62 against a circular seat 63. From within a chamber 64 ports 66 and 61 communicate between the'chamber 64 and the bore 29 and on opposite sides'o'f the valve 6|.

A pipe 68 serves to conduct pressure from the chamber 64 through one side of the two-way checkvalve 3|.

Assuming now that my device has been placed upon the railroad car and the two semaphores at the opposite corners of the car are in the full line position. Now assume that for some reason, when the engineer reduces the brake pressure in the pipe II, the push rod 54 fails to move outwardly to apply the brakes of the car, which may be caused by several breakdowns, for instance, leakage around the piston 49 or failure of the valves in the housing 1, or leakage in the pipe lines, any one of which might cause brake failure.

As soon as this occurs, coincidental with the operation of the service portion of the housing 1, the diaphragm 2| will move toward the left of Fig. 3 due to reduced pressure on that side of the diaphragm, plus the pressure from the auxiliary reservoir upon its opposite side.

This movement of, the diaphragm will cause the slide valve I1 to move from the position .of Fig. 3 to a position wherethe U-shaped passage IE will connect the bore M and the bore 25.

As soon as this occurs, air pressure will pass through the pipe |3, bore l4, U-shaped passage |8, bore 25, and some of this pressure will move into the volume reservoir 38.

At the same time, pressure will pass downwardly through the port 66, past the valve seat 63 and through the pipe 68 to the check valve 3|, moving the check valve 32 from the position shown in Fig. 4 toward the left. This will uncover the ports and permit air to escape through the pipe 34 to one side of the check valve 36, which check valve willpermit the air to pass therethrough into thepipe 4|, pipe 42 and into the cylinders 43 at which point this air will cause the pistons to move the semaphores through their linkage to the dotted line position of Fig. 1, thus indicating to any person standing adjacent to the right of way that the brake system in this particular car has failed to function and therefore that the brake system must be repaired.

Assuming now that the engineer has reduced the pressure in the pipe I and that this reduction of pressure has caused the brake cylinder to function in a proper manner, the valve actuating lever 56 will be moved out of contact with the push button 51, whereupon the spring 62 will close the valve 6| against the valve seat 63, shutting off the escape of air through the pipe 68.

As a result of the closing of the valve 6|, there is no escape of air into the pipe 68 and through the usual channels to the pipe 62, consequently the semaphore will not be actuated and it will be evident to the observer that the brakes upon the car are in perfect working condition.

Should the brake piston momentarily apply the brakes and then, due to leakage, return to its normal position through the action of the spring 5|, this fact would be indicated by the fact that the valve actuating lever 56 will engage the push button 51, unseating the valve 6|,

and allowing escape of air as before described into the semaphore operating mechanism.

Should the piston in the brake cylinder travel too far, that is, beyond a pre-determined distance, which might be brought about by defect in the mechanical rigging or wear of the brake shoes, then the piston 49 will uncover the port leading to the pipe 33, thus transmitting pressure through the same to the check valve 3!, pipe 34, check valve 36, to the semaphore pipe 4|, thus causing the semaphore to act.

The volume reservoir is merely a small storage volume tank, whereby air pressure may be conveyed therefrom, past the valve 6| and valve seat 63, to operate the semaphores, should the slide valve I1 only be moved a portion of its customary tnavel toward release position.

It will thus be seen that I have devised a means for signalling the failure of the brake system under all normal brake failure conditions.

On each car there is a retaining valve, the purpose of which is well known. Therefore, when the retaining valve is set at a pre-determined pressure, air'is passed through the pipe 38, pipe 31, valve to semaphore pipe 42, thus moving the semaphores of this car to up position, indicating that the retaining valve and its related piping is effective. This applies, also, to all cars having their retainers set up.

This will be a signal to the train crew or others that the retaining valve must be returned to its inoperative position and the semaphores returned to their down position and the end of a period that the retaining valves were in use, as for instance, at the end of a run down a grade.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes relative to the material,

size, shape and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a brake system for a railroad car, having a brake pipe line, an auxiliary air storage tank and a brake operating cylinder and piston, the combination of a Warning signal, means normally responsive to a drop in pressure in said brake pipe line for operating said signal, and

means operable by the movement of said piston for blocking the operation of said signal if the brake piston moves into normal brake applying position upon said drop in pressure.

2. In a brake system for a railroad car having a brake pipe line, an auxiliary air storage tank and a brake operating cylinder and piston, the combination of a fluid pressure operated warning signal, a valved pipe connecting said tank and said signal, means normally responsive to a pressure drop in said brake pipe line to open said valve and supply fluid from said tank to said signal, and means operable by the movement of said piston to shut off the fluid to said signal if the brake piston moves into normal brake applying position in response to said drop in pressure.

3. A brake system as set forth in claim 1 further including means to operate said warning signal upon excessive movement of said brake operating piston in the direction of brake application.

4. A brake system as set forth in claim 2. further including means to supply fluid pressure from said tank to said warning signal upon excessive movement of said brake operating piston in the direction of brake application.

5. In a brake system for a railroad car having a brake pipe line, an auxiliary air storage tank, a brake operating cylinder and piston, and a manually operable brake pressure retaining valve for grade operation, the combination of a fluid pressure operated warning signal, a valved pipe connecting said tank and said signal, means normally responsive to a pressure drop in said ,pipe line to open said valve and supply fluid to said signal, means operable by the movement of said piston to shut off the fluid to said signal if the brake piston moves into normal brake applying position, and means connecting the pressure side of said retaining valve and said signal whereby fluid will be supplied to operate said signal when said valve is closed.

6. A brake system as set forth in claim 2 further including an aperture in the wall of said cylinder at a selected point near the outer end thereof and a fluid conduit connecting said aperture to said warning signal whereby when said piston moves an excessive distance outwardly said piston will move beyond said aperture and admit brake pressure fluid to operate said warning signal.

7. In a brake system for a railroad car having a brake pipe line, an auxiliary air storage tank and a brake operating piston, the combination of a fluid pressure operated warning signal, a valved pipe connecting said storage tank and said warning signal, a piston operator for said valve positioned in a casing and forming separate, fluid-tight chambers, the first of said chambers being connected to said brake pipe line, the second of said chambers being connected to said storage tank, a second valve between said first valve and said warning signal, and means operable by the movement of said piston to close said second valve and thereby shut 01f the fluid to said signal if the brake piston moves into normal brake applying position in response to said drop in pressure.

8. In a brake system for a railroad car having a brake pipe line, an auxiliary air storage tank and a brake operating cylinder and piston, the combination of a fluid pressure operated warning signal, an aperture in the wall of said cylinder adjacent its outer end and a conduit connecting said aperture and said storage tank whereby when said piston travels an excessive distance outwardly, brake operating fluid will flow through said aperture and operate said warning signal.

9. In a brake system for a railroad car having a brake pipe line, an auxiliary air storage tank, a brake operating cylinder and piston and a manually operated brake pressure retaining valve for grade operation, the combination of a fluid pressure operated warning signal and means connecting the pressure side of said retaining valve and said signal whereby fluid will be supplied to operate said signal when said valve is closed.

CARL H. BECK.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 506,787 Mattice Oct. 17, 1893 645,494 Rogers Mar. 13, 1900 823,114 Gerard June 12, 1906 2,137,495 Kershaw Nov. 22, 1938 

